Here is your post about the Jones Day bonus. Now please put the lotion in the basket and give me back my dog.

Okay. Yesterday, Jones Day sent around its individual compensation letters. Traditionally, Jones Day makes bonus decisions on a case-by-case basis. This year is no different, but a tipster reports that the firm has generally decided to follow the Cravath scale.

Jones Day doesn’t have a billable hours requirement. But because of the individual nature of the firm’s decisions, some associates could be receiving more than people at Cravath, while some could get far less.

We also understand that Jones Day does everything it can to keep associates from knowing what the guy down the hall is taking home. A tipster reports:

All comp is confidential here. So no one knows what anyone else gets, unless you spill the beans, which is strongly discouraged. You just get your personal comp letter with your numbers.

Firm spokespeople could not be reached for comment about their bonus structure.

Our tipsters weigh in after the jump.

There is an interesting wrinkle to Jones Day’s bonus payments that causes extra confusion as to how much is really being paid out. Instead of making a lump sum, upfront payment, JD spaces out the bonus over the course of a full year’s salary. This, of course, saves the firm a little money in case anybody leaves or gets laid off over the course of 2009. A tipster explains:

But again, the bonus is just paid out as extra salary over the course of the year. Jones Day apparently is going back to their historical model of not paying bonuses, per se, but just adding the additional money into your annual raise. So my salary next year is quite a bit higher than market, but that just accounts for my bonus being included in my salary.

We also understand that Jones Day will be raising salaries on schedule.

So, all together now: Jones Day is generally paying market bonuses, to most associates, assuming they stick with the firm through the entirety of 2009. We think.

We’ve all heard how dysfunctional entry-level legal recruiting is: Inordinate expense, decisions made on the briefest of subjective impressions with opacity all around, and what do firms reap for all their efforts? Shocking attrition rates among junior associates. It’s time for a conference on what could work better, and this is it.

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